The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after winning the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
The wait is over at last for the city of Milwaukee. After 57 years, it finally has a World Series champion after the Brewers finished off the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5, winning 4-1 Wednesday night to clinch the series.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports & faith connect <<
Milwaukee was one of the best teams in baseball all season and set a franchise record with an MLB-best 103 wins. Then the Brewers stormed through the postseason, sweeping the two-time defending-champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and they were three outs away from sweeping the Rays too before Tampa Bay orchestrated a come-from-behind win in the 12th inning of Game 4.
Milwaukee was powered by talent up and down the roster, but was held together by a strong bond that resembled a family feel, reliever Aaron Ashby told Fox after the game. Including Ashby, this Brewers team was made up of a core group of believers who are outspoken about their faith in Jesus.
“I wouldn’t be here without that,” Ashby told CBN Sports before the series started. “It’s such a special thing to me and my family, our faith. To be able to really rely on that in these moments has been so cool. The amount of peace that I didn’t think I would feel but I do feel has been overwhelming and undeniable. To have that cornerstone foundation for myself has been the most important thing this postseason.”
The World Series MVP honors went to catcher William Contreras, who went 8-for-21 at the plate with four RBIs, two runs, a stolen base and four runners caught stealing. He also managed Milwaukee’s star-studded pitching staff, which held the Rays to two runs or fewer in three of the five games.
But Ashby made a strong case for MVP as well — so much so that Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt asked if he wanted to share the honors with Contreras. Ashby politely declined, saying Contreras deserved all the praise, but his own numbers spoke for themselves. Ashby appeared in three World Series games for the Brewers, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, no walks and just one hit allowed. He pitched 2.1 of those innings in Game 4, striking out three batters and extending his postseason scoreless streak to 18 innings, the longest by any reliever in playoff history.
When asked by CBN Sports what the name of Jesus means to him, Ashby said, “An unbelievable amount of grace and love that we aren’t deserving of but we’re given because of His graceful love for us.”
Second baseman Brice Turang also played a key role in the World Series, going 6-for-19 with two RBIs and three runs scored. He recorded the championship-clinching putout and, like Ashby, has been outspoken about his Christian faith. He lists Psalm 37:5 in his Instagram bio.
“I’m so blessed to be in this situation, to have the family that I have,” Turang told CBN Sports. “Being with the team that drafted me, everything is just a blessing for me. The highs and lows of life and just being able to love Him every day, and the amount of grace and forgiveness that He gives us, I wouldn’t be here without Him.”
Center fielder Garrett Mitchell — who has a “Keep the Faith” tattoo and Jeremiah 29:11 tattoo — started all five games in the World Series and made most of his impact in the field rather than at the plate, but he logged three hits and drove in two runs. Before the series, he opened up about how he’s trusted God through his battle with diabetes and injuries.
“Not that mine’s any more special than anyone else’s, I think we all go through challenges in life that show up in a lot of different ways. It’s mental, it’s physical,” Mitchell told CBN Sports. “For me, my journey is just continuing to keep my head up and persevere through diabetes, through injuries. For me, I just know that God has a plan and He gives challenges to His warriors and those He believes can handle it. So I just continue to try to keep my head up and keep pushing forward because if I don’t, no one else is going to do it for me.”
Dustin May, who was traded to Milwaukee from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, made the start for the Brewers in Game 4 and pitched three innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. After starting his career as highly touted prospect for the Dodgers, he missed the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and an esophageal tear. He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 2025 season before signing with the Cardinals ahead of this season.
He’s been through a lot both on and off the field, and those trials have helped him mature in his faith.
“My faith with the Lord has grown a lot over the past couple of years, just because I feel like I’ve had to put so much more on His plate,” May told CBN Sports. “And He’s delivered in every moment — being able, for one, to keep a jersey on my back and giving me the ability to come back year in and year out. To be able to be here with my wife, who’s been by my side and seeing the lows that I’ve been in. It’s definitely incredible.”
MLB now heads into an offseason where a new collective bargaining agreement will be negotiated, and there have been talks that a lockout is possible, meaning the start of the 2027 season could be delayed if an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association isn’t reached. But whenever baseball returns, the Brewers and their core group of believers figure to be squarely in the conversation for championship contenders once again.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby trusts that ‘Christ loves us’
— Jonny DeLuca helps Rays in World Series, stays ‘rooted in Jesus’
— Rays ace Drew Rasmussen knows God gives ‘everlasting joy’
— ‘Man of Christ’ Richie Palacios enjoying career year for Rays
— Mookie Betts, others ‘give glory to God’ during Dodgers Faith Day
